It's All Coming Back to Me Now
by Milotic
Summary: A hopefully realistic look at the relationship between an adult Ash and Misty. One-shot. AAML.


It's All Coming Back to Me Now

Disclaimer: I own neither Pokémon nor the song "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." I do, however, own this story.

There were nights when the wind was so cold

That my body froze in bed

If I just listened to it

Right outside the window

The Cerulean City gym leader sat up slowly, swinging her long legs over the edge of the bed before planting her dainty feet firmly on the ground. Wrapping her arms around her slender figure in an attempt to maintain some semblance of warmth, she stood up slowly, painfully aware of the newborn Ponyta legs syndrome she had been experiencing lately. Must be the lack of sleep, she couldn't help thinking. Finally her bleary eyes focused, adjusting to the dark, and she walked over towards the window.

Looking out at the sky, she couldn't help but stare in awe at the stars; they were just so numerous…lovely, too, especially the way they seemed to blink back at her in understanding, promising to keep another late-night rendezvous secret, safe from prying eyes and ears. The Cerulean City gym leader sighed. Had it really been a year?

There were days when the sun was so cruel

That all the tears turned to dust

And I just knew my eyes were

Drying up forever

Making her way down the stairs, the Cerulean City gym leader clutched the banister, her ally against the darkness, to keep from falling. Empty spaces dotted the walls, spaces where pictures should have been hung; the pictures were gone, though, save for a few of four young smiling sisters.

Turning on the television, the Cerulean City gym leader stifled a yawn. She was so tired. She couldn't give into sleep, though, one of the most human of needs, for fear of seeing his face, for fear of dreaming about him. No, she couldn't handle that.

I finished crying in the instant that you left

And I can't remember where or when or how

And I banished every memory you and I had ever made

Flipping through the channels, the Cerulean City gym leader spotted an ad for a water Pokémon charm bracelet, and a lump formed in the back of her throat. Hadn't he given her something similar years ago? Oh, how cathartic crying would be right now! Still, she could not cry, had been unable to cry for a long time. Numb…she had become numb.

Suddenly, the sound of knocking on the door roused the Cerulean City gym leader from her reverie, snapping her back into the reality. Fearing a burglar, she reached for the baseball bat she kept near the door, but what if it were someone in need? What if one of her friends was in trouble? Deciding to take the risk, she slowly approached the door…

But when you touch me like this

And you hold me like that

I just have to admit that it's all coming back to me

When I touch you like this

And I hold you like that

It's so hard to believe but

It's all coming back to me

…and came face to face with him. Maybe she should have taken that baseball bat after all.

"Ash!" The Cerulean City gym leader went to slam the door, but a hand grabbed her wrist, effectively stopping her.

"Mist, wait!"

_Mist_…his pet name for her. How long had it been since she had heard that name? How long had it been since she had heard that voice, felt that soft touch, seen those chocolate eyes, that messy jet black hair? She felt a force like no other in her throat, a river of emotion rising from her belly to her neck.

"You have two minutes," she managed to choke.

"You won't regret this, Misty," Ash said, sporting a goofy, lopsided grin, one that turned her insides to absolute mush. Stepping inside the home, he then did something she never would have imagined, never would have expected in a million years; he embraced her, and soon a flood of memories threatened to drown her, memories she had struggled for a year to repress and forget.

There were moments of gold

And there were flashed of light

There were things I'd never do again

But then they'd always seemed right

There were nights of endless pleasure

It was more than any laws allow

Baby Baby…

_Giggling, Misty allowed him to drag her along. She noticed with a smile that the hand that grasped hers was tinged with sweat. He was nervous!_

"_Ash, where are we going? When can I open my eyes?"_

"_You'll see!" Though Misty couldn't see him at the moment, she could picture him sticking his pink tongue out at her, a look of mock teasing. Oh, how cute he was!_

"_Well, here we are. You can open your eyes now." _

_Misty slowly opened her eyes, then noticed with a shock where she was. A familiar outcropping of trees, the steady cadence of a river and a waterfall…this was where they had first met! Misty then smiled as she noticed a picnic basket filled to the brim with all of the fixings._

"_You couldn't have made that yourself," she laughed. _

"_Well, I might have had a little help from Mom," Ash admitted, placing his hand behind his head in a gesture of surrender. _

"_Ash, I can't believe you remembered! This is where we first met!" Misty gushed._

"_Of course, I remembered, Misty! I wanted to do something special because we met on this exact day exactly ten years ago. Did you forget?"_

_Did she forget?! Did she forget?! How could she have possibly forgotten? It was only the most important day of her life!_

"_Of course not! Oh, Ash, I love you so much!"_

If I kiss you like this

And if you whisper like that

It was lost long ago

But it's all coming back to me

If you want me like this

And if you need me like that

It was dead long ago

But it's all coming back to me

It's so hard to resist

And it's all coming back to me now

I can barely recall

But it's all coming back to me now

Misty inhaled his smell, letting it seep into her nostrils. Placing her head against his toned chest, for the first time in a long time she cried, deep sobs that shook her body and rocked her ribcage.

"Shh, Misty, don't cry," he whispered, pulling her closer to him and clutching her firmly, afraid to let go lest he should lose her again.

Then she did something he never would have imagined, never would have expected in a million years; she kissed him, a passionate, forceful kiss that sent a chill up his spine. Leaning in, he kissed back.

They kissed until she no longer could, until the sobs threatened her once more. She remembered…she remembered not only the good, but the ugly as well…

There were those empty threats and hollow lies

And whenever you tried to hurt me

I just hurt you even worse

And so much deeper

"_Ash ,where are you going?"_

_The animosity in her voice caused him to stop dead in his tracks, though his flinch was only temporary. _

"_What's it to you?" he shot right back at her._

"_I'm your girlfriend; I have a right to know where you're going!" she spat._

"_Well, for your information, I'm going to see Dawn." There. That should shut her up. Or not…_

"_Dawn? It seems like you spend more time with her than with me!"_

"_Well, you know Ambipom has been sick. Besides, Dawn isn't all nasty all of the time like you are!" Ash fired back, knowing that this would get to her._

"_Well, if that's the case why don't you just move in with Dawn?"_

"_Perhaps I will. She needs me right now!" With that Ash was off, slamming the door behind him._

"_But…I need you."_

There were hours that just went on for days

When alone at last we'd count up all the chances

That were lost to us forever

"_Misty, you know I have to go to this league dinner!"_

"_But Ash, you promised we'd have dinner together tonight."_

"_Misty, my work is very important to me!"_

"_What about me? Aren't I important to you?"_

_Pacing the room, Ash threw his arms up in despair. _

"_Misty, I don't have time for this. I have to be at that dinner in an hour!"_

"_Work work work! That's all you ever do! What about us?" Misty, exasperated, shook with anger._

"_You know you're important to me, Misty, but so is being a Pokémon Master!"_

"_Well, which is more important?"_

_Ash stopped dead in his tracks. "What are you trying to say?"_

"_You heard me. Choose, Mr. Pokémon Master!"_

"_M-m-misty…goodbye."_

But you were history with the slamming of the door

And I made myself so strong again somehow

And I never wasted any of my time on you since then

_In her anger Misty removed anything from the house that contained Ash's image, anything that so much as remotely reminded her of the young Pokémon Master. She became cut off from her old friends, preferring to spend her time alone in the empty house she and Ash had lovingly purchased together. Her anger acted as a constant reminder of what had happened, what had gone wrong, what she had lost. Yet…_

_Deep down, she knew. Misty knew that she was as much to blame as Ash, knew that she played as big of a part as he did. Perhaps that hurt the most. Yet her pride, oh, her monstrous pride, kept her from ever seeking him out. Still, on the surface remained all that anger. Yes, there was a lot of anger._

But if I touch you like this

And if you kiss me like that

It was so long ago

But it's all coming back to me

If you touch me like this

And if I kiss you like that

It was gone with the wind

But it's all coming back to me

(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now)

Finally the couple separated, Ash hesitating to let go of Misty but ultimately doing so. He carefully stroked her tear-stained face and then reached for her long red hair, fingering it gently the way he had so many times before. 

"Ash, I'm so sorry. I never should have made you choose," Misty sobbed.

"No, Misty, I'm the one who should be sorry. You're far more important to me than my job, and I want you to know that."

Misty's sobs finally abated, and she took a moment to compose herself before speaking again.

"I was so angry at you for leaving, and when I saw you tonight I thought I might explode with anger," Misty confessed. "Then when you touched me, when you embraced me it all melted away."

"Well, I'm glad for that!" Ash laughed. "I know all too well what an angry Misty is like!"

Misty then leaned over and playfully hit the young Pokémon Master. The two young adults erupted with laughter.

"Oh, how I've missed you, Ash!"

"I've missed you, too, Misty."

The living room of the small house became cloaked with silence, and the pair stared at each other awkwardly.

"It's just…I just keep thinking of all of the fights we got into, Ash," Misty explained. "Do you really think it can work?"

"Think about the good time, Mist. Think about the good times," Ash whispered in her ear, turning towards her. This time he initiated the kiss.

There were moments of gold

And there were flashes of light

There were things we'd never do again

But then they'd always seemed right

There were nights of endless pleasure

It was more than all your laws allow

Baby Baby Baby

_Laughing, Misty rolled over to face Ash. Smiling contentedly, she patted her full belly, the picnic having long since been consumed. _

"_Thank you, Ash," the gym leader stated softly._

"_You're welcome, Misty."_

_Staring up at the now star filled sky, Misty realized that this was perhaps the best day of her life. Little did she realize that Ash was about to make it the best night of her life as well…_

"_Misty?"_

"_Yeah, Ash?"_

"_I…um…I wanted to ask you something."_

_Turning over to face her boyfriend, Misty realized that he was now blushing. What could be making Ash so nervous?_

"_Go ahead, Ash."_

"_Well, I um, Iwaswonderingifyou'dliketogobacktomyhouse."_

_Ash's statement came out in such a hurry that it was little more than a flurry of words to Misty._

"_Sorry?"_

"_Um, well, Mom's not home and I was wondering if you'd like to go back to my house." _

_Ash's face, Misty noticed, was as red as the ketchup his beloved Pikachu adored. She smiled._

"_That's, um, only if you want to, and um…damn," Ash stated, whispering the last word._

_Misty couldn't help but giggle. "Don't be silly, Mr. Pokémon Master. I thought you'd never ask…"_

When you touch me like this

And when you hold me like that

It was gone with the wind

But it's all coming back to me

When you see me like this

And when I see you like that

We see what we want to see

All coming back to me

The flesh and the fantasies

All coming back to me

I can barely recall but it's all coming back to me now

Releasing himself from the kiss, Ash turned to look at Misty seriously.

"Misty?"

"Yes?"

"I, uh, I want you to know that nothing has ever gone on between me and Dawn or May or anyone. I know I have a lot of good friends who are girls, but I only have one best friend and only one person I love, and that's you, Misty."

"That's sweet, Ash. Thank you." Misty paused for a moment before continuing. "Ash, I was wrong to ever suspect you of anything. I know you'd never hurt me."

"Ha, don't you ever forget it," Ash laughed, pushing Misty playfully.

When Ash embraced Misty this time, the memories came flooding back to her again, only this time the good outnumbered the bad…and, she realized, that's how it was in real life; the good far outnumbered the bad in her life with Ash. They would make it work after all.

If you forgive me all this

If I forgive you all that

We forgive and forget

And it's all coming back to me

When you see me like this

And when I see you like that

We see what we want to see

All coming back to me

The flesh and the fantasies

All coming back to me

I can barely recall

But it's all coming back to me now

"Do you forgive me, Misty?" Ash asked seriously, hanging his head a little.

"I'll forgive you under two conditions, Ash," Misty began, smiling.

"What? I'll do anything, Mist."

"One: don't leave me ever again." The redhead paused, suddenly looking rather distressed. " And two: please, Ash, please forgive me," Misty begged.

"Done!" Ash exclaimed, reaching over to embrace his girlfriend, his lover, his best friend.

The couple embraced for a long time, kissing intermittently. Finally they separated.

"What now?" Ash asked.

"Well, um, wecouldgoupstairs," Misty trailed off, her face turning bright red.

"What was that, Misty?" Ash asked.

"Um, well, I was just thinking we could go upstairs…but only if you want to, and…damn," the Cerulean City gym leader stated, whispering the last word.

Ash couldn't help but giggle. "Don't be silly, Misty. I thought you'd never ask…"

(It's all coming back to me now)

And when you kiss me like this

(It's all coming back to me now)

And when I touch you like that

(It's all coming back to me now)

If you do it like this

(It's all coming back to me now)

And if we…

The End

Author's Note: OK, so this sucks; there isn't any doubt about it. In fact, I can't even list how many ways this sucks. I'm really, really sorry. If you read through this whole thing you deserve some kind of prize…seriously. It's bad bad bad. We'll just leave it at that. Don't ask me why I wrote it or why I posted it.

I haven't forgotten about Together; I just haven't had much time to work on it and lost what work I had done when my computer crashed a couple of weeks ago. Also, the next chapter is a difficult one to write. I should have some downtime later this week so if I start it then and finish it next weekend I should be able to post the next chapter in about a week. I can't guarantee that, though, because I have finals coming up. If I don't post it next weekend I will definitely post it the weekend after that. It will be up before Christmas, so do not fear! (As for why I wrote this piece of crap instead of working on Together, well, I have no idea!)

I have some more ideas for two one-shots (which will hopefully be better than this one!), one of which will be Christmas themed and may even have a twist of lemon…if you know what I mean! ;) I hope to get those up before Christmas as well. (Before you ask: no, they won't be song-fics. I know that song-fics—like this one—tend to suck.)

Anyway, sorry about this crappy fic!


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